Can You Trust Hotel Review Websites?

September 17, 2018

A recent U.S. survey by polling company, CivicScience revealed that a majority (53%) of adults surveyed said they trusted none of the top review sites. The polling company surveyed 1,789 U.S. adults about the websites they currently use to find hotel reviews. Sites like TripAdvisor, Google, and Trivago, topped the list as the most utilised hotel review websites. But an even bigger revelation were the unmentioned sites.

It appears that when it comes to hotel reviews, people don’t believe anything they read online. And the reason is simple -they’ve been misled too many times. It is thought that tens of millions of reviews by people have an agenda. Hotel guests, even the real ones, generally only leave reviews when they have something positive or negative to say about a property. That excludes a broad section of real guests who had an acceptable experience from the commenting platforms. It’s also a terrible disservice to would-be hotel guests looking for useful information.

Where should you go for accurate hotel information? The 53% surveyed say the most reliable source of information is by word-of-mouth. Professional travel advisors can also be a good source of information, at least when it comes to evaluating amenities and service.